ASSESSMENT LITERACY: A NECESSARY FOUNDATION IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN February 19, 2014 MSTC Clinic A 10:20-11:35 am

Session Purpose & Outcomes  Familiarize with NEW MI Assessment Literacy Standards  Explore implications of assessment literacy for variety of stakeholder groups  Gather your feedback regarding desired/necessary future PD, resources, tools.

OUR CONTEXT Setting the Stage…

Remember society’s demands of its school:  ALL students lifelong learners  Narrow achievement gap among students  Universal graduation for students  All students ready for colleges or workplace training  Raise achievement levels students excerpted Rick Stiggins MDE- DAS 2013 Fall Conference presentation

So, how are we doing so far?  NAEP scores have flat-lined for decades  Drop out rates remain stable and high; some are astronomical  USA’s place in international rankings stable  Excellent teachers and new teachers are leaving the profession in unprecedented numbers excerpted Rick Stiggins MDE- DAS 2013 Fall Conference presentation

Our Context: assessment in all of this…  Public accountability for test scores supposed to improve schools (local, state, national, international)  Linking federal funding to test scores supposed to improve schools  Writing tougher standards & tests—raising the bar supposed to improve schools  Competing for federal $ -- RtT, NCLB, -- supposed to improve schools…  Evaluating teachers based on annual test scores is supposed to improve schools Adapted from Rick Stiggins MDE- DAS 2013 Fall Conference presentation

How is this possible?  No assessment training for teachers or admins  Lack of assessment literacy among policy makers at local, state, and federal levels  Little awareness throughout of how to link assessment to teaching and learning  No norm for quality assessment in higher ed.  Aggressive selling of test services to unqualified users  Standards of quality ignore 99% of assessments  Technical apps exacerbate quality problems excerpted Rick Stiggins MDE- DAS 2013 Fall Conference presentation

What is “Assessment Literacy”?  When thinking about a person being assessment literate, what might he/she believe, know, and be able to do?

Pause and Self-Assess

What does assessment involve?  Making expectations explicit and public  Setting appropriate criteria and high expectations for learning quality  Systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards….and  Using the resulting information to document, explain, modify, and improve performance.

ASSESSMENT LITERACY STANDARDS Overview…

ALS Development  The MAC has developed assessment literacy standards  These standards will describe the dispositions, knowledge and skills needed by all parties regarding student assessment  The goal is to provide a common basis for work to help all become more assessment literate

ALS Development  After internal review and revision, several external reviewers were asked to comment on the standards. These included:  Susan Brookhart  Carol Commodore  Margaret Heritage  Ken O’Connor  Jim Popham  Rick Stiggins  MASSP, MEMSPA and MASCD

Students and Parents Teachers Building Administrators District Administrators Local and State Policymakers Assessment Literacy Standards Pre-service teachers Administrator Certification

Assessment Literacy Standards I. Dispositions II. Knowledge III. Performance

Standards are lettered and numbered for easy reference.

Individual Reflection on the Standards Silently read and record on the standards document:  Feedback on the standards:  Clarifications/suggested revisions  Deletions  Additions  Strengths/positives regarding the standards  Implications for your practice

A Method to Review Multiple Standard Sets Jigsaw  Groups of 3 or 4 receive a specific set of standards. The group jigsaws reading and reports the assigned reading to their group.  Once each group has read and reviewed their entire assigned set of standards, they report out to the whole group what their set of standards included.  WHILE READING, the group members record their feedback on the standards (clarifications, additions, etc.).  They discuss this and report it to the whole group.

What are the Implications?  What are your thoughts about implications of the Assessment Literacy Standards … For you? For your building? For your district? For higher education? Silently record your thoughts on an index card.

STUDENTS Assessment Literacy for…

Student Assessment Literacy The documentation of student learning and progress now plays a primary role in how our schools and educational programs are evaluated. Assessment in all its forms (e.g., formative, summative, self-assessment) has become one of the biggest discussion points in education today. Educational accountability, must now be demonstrated in the classroom through the documented collection of student learning evidence. -- Dr. Raymond Witte

In the words of Popham… “…assessment illiteracy is professional suicide…” James Popham

TEACHERS Assessment Literacy for…

Consider this…  Research suggests that teachers spend from one- quarter to one-third of their professional time on assessment related activities.  Almost all do so without the benefit of having learned the principles of sound assessment.  Rick Stiggins, 2007

Reflection – Agree or Disagree?  “A solid understanding of assessment issues should be part of every teachers’ knowledge base, and teachers should be encouraged to equip themselves with this knowledge as part of their ongoing professional development.”  Dr. Sara Cushing Weigle, Georgia State University

Final Reflections  “We owe it to ourselves and our students to devote at least as much energy to ensuring that our assessment practices are worthwhile as we do to ensuring that we teach well”  Dr. David Boud, University of Technology, Sydney

BUILDING and DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS Assessment Literacy for…

 There are different purposes for student assessment.  The definitions of and uses for different types of assessment  The differences between the types of assessment tools.  Promoting assessment literacy for self and staff

 Providing time and support for staff to implement a balanced assessment system by providing opportunities to develop skills in: Scoring/Analyzing results  Leading dialogues with staff in interpreting results  Clearly explaining how to analyze and use assessment results  Clearly communicating results to various constituents

 There are different purposes for student assessment.  The definitions of and uses for different types of assessments  The different types of assessment methods and when educators should use each  How to develop or select high quality assessments  Promoting assessment literacy with staff

Assuring that each and every staff member is:  A confident, competent master themselves of the targets that they are responsible for teaching  Sufficiently assessment literate to assess their assigned targets Assisting teachers to collaboratively analyze and use data Leading dialogues with staff in interpreting results and creating goals for improvement Clearly communicating results to various constituents

Standard 3:Assessment G.Assessment System Implements a balanced assessment system and ensures that summative and on-going formative assessments are aligned to curriculum and instruction Classroom assessments are designed to be developmentally appropriate and are aligned to the depth of knowledge required to demonstrate proficiency with standards Assessment Literacy Standards: Teachers Knowledge The definitions of and uses for different types of assessments How to unpack standards into clear learning targets and that are written in student-friendly language and that are used as the basis for the everyday curriculum.

H.Shared Understanding All educators can communicate the appropriate purposes and uses of assessment. Reports of student data are communicated to students and parents in a manner that they can understand. Dispositions An effective assessment system must balance different purposes for different users and use varied methods of assessment and communication. Performance Communicate effectively with students, parents, other teachers and administrators about student learning.

I. Data Analysis and Decision-Making Educators use a combination of student achievement, demographic, process and perception data over time to make informed instructional decisions to meet individual student needs Assessment data are used to place students, monitor progress and drive timely interventions. Knowledge There are different purposes for student assessment: Student improvement; Instructional program improvement; Student, teacher or system accountability: Program evaluation; Prediction for future performance or achievement Different users have different assessment purposes Different assessment purposes may require different assessment methods

J. Student Involvement in the Assessment Process Students understand the criteria and expectations for demonstrating their learning. Students receive descriptive feedback based on student performance, as well as guidance on how to improve. Students are taught how to self-assess and plan for improvement. Students learn to track and use their own achievement data and related feedback to monitor, evaluate, and reflect on how to improve their own performance. Knowledge How to engage students in using their own assessment results for reflection and goal setting How to provide effective feedback from assessments suitable for different audiences: descriptive vs. evaluative Performance Support student use of assessment feedback to improve attitudes, aspirations, mindsets and achievement.

POLICYMAKERS Case Study…

Balance is needed in an assessment system because: 1. Different users have different assessment purposes 2. Different assessment purposes may require different assessment methods There are different purposes for student assessment: 1. Student improvement 2. Instructional program improvement 3. Student, teacher or system accountability 4. Program evaluation 5. Prediction of future performance/achievement

The differences between the types of assessments in a balanced system of assessment: 1. Summative Assessments 2. Interim Benchmark Assessments 3. Formative Assessment There are different ways to measure student achievement; each has advantages and challenges.

There are different ways to report results: 1. Norm-referenced interpretations 2. Criterion-referenced interpretations 3. When each type of interpretation may be more useful There are several essential technical standards for high quality assessments: 1. Reliability – Do the assessments produce replicable scores? 2. Validity – Is there evidence that supports the intended uses of the assessment? Assessments can be purchased or developed locally; each approach has advantages and challenges.

There are a number of steps in the assessment development process to produce high quality assessments. Quality assessment of any type requires adequate funding and time. Users of the assessment require time to learn to administer and use the assessment results appropriately, and resources may be needed to carry out these activities. Should know which student measures are appropriate for teacher and administrator evaluation.

RESOURCES AND NEXT STEPS Assessment Literacy…

Putting the Standards to Use  Professional development for K-12 teachers, administrators, etc.  Workshops, full-length courses, tools and resources, etc.  Higher Education  Pre-Service Teachers, Administrator Certification  Future collaboration with other organizations (PD, development of public policy, etc.)

Time to Process  Now, think about two questions:  If Michigan educators had achieved these standards, what would be different in Michigan’s students?  If this is a preferred future, what would need to be done to push this vision forward?  You may wish to turn and talk about this for a few minutes add, to your index cards – we would like to collect these.

Thank You!